TY - JOUR
T1 - Changes in Body Composition and Its Relationship to Performance in Elite Female Track and Field Athletes Transitioning to the Senior Division
AU - Tsukahara, Yuka
AU - Torii, Suguru
AU - Yamasawa, Fumihiro
AU - Iwamoto, Jun
AU - Otsuka, Takanobu
AU - Goto, Hideyuki
AU - Kusakabe, Torao
AU - Matsumoto, Hideo
AU - Akama, Takao
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by Japan Sports Agency, “Support for Female Athletes”.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Many elite female athletes struggle to maintain performance while transitioning from high school to university-level (senior) sports. This study explores factors of body composition that influenced performance in elite junior female track and field athletes transitioning to the senior division. Forty-two elite female track and field athletes, ranked among the top 100 in Japan, were enrolled in this study. Whole-body mode dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were performed during the post-season of 2016 and 2017. Athletes’ performances were assessed using the International Association of Athletics Federation scoring system. Relationships between changes in performance and those in body composition were investigated. There were significant negative correlations between changes in performance and fat mass (FM), and percentage FM (FM%). This was seen in total body and lower extremities, and not in the trunk and upper extremities. In addition, there was a positive correlation between changes in performance and percentage lean mass (LM%). However, there were no correlations between changes in performance and LM and total mass. Elite female track and field athletes transitioning to senior division should decrease their FM and FM% and increase LM%, to sustain or improve performance. It is also more important to monitor changes in body composition than body mass.
AB - Many elite female athletes struggle to maintain performance while transitioning from high school to university-level (senior) sports. This study explores factors of body composition that influenced performance in elite junior female track and field athletes transitioning to the senior division. Forty-two elite female track and field athletes, ranked among the top 100 in Japan, were enrolled in this study. Whole-body mode dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were performed during the post-season of 2016 and 2017. Athletes’ performances were assessed using the International Association of Athletics Federation scoring system. Relationships between changes in performance and those in body composition were investigated. There were significant negative correlations between changes in performance and fat mass (FM), and percentage FM (FM%). This was seen in total body and lower extremities, and not in the trunk and upper extremities. In addition, there was a positive correlation between changes in performance and percentage lean mass (LM%). However, there were no correlations between changes in performance and LM and total mass. Elite female track and field athletes transitioning to senior division should decrease their FM and FM% and increase LM%, to sustain or improve performance. It is also more important to monitor changes in body composition than body mass.
KW - body composition
KW - elite female athlete
KW - percentage fat mass
KW - percentage lean mass
KW - track and field
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U2 - 10.3390/sports8090115
DO - 10.3390/sports8090115
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85104024754
SN - 2075-4663
VL - 8
JO - Sports
JF - Sports
IS - 9
M1 - 132
ER -